the top quarterbacks in the nfl have had rocky starts in the first three weeks of the season. drew brees, 0-3, tom brady, ben

roethlisberger, peyton manning, all at 1-2. mike, i had a friend of mine ask me today here in town, at what point are you going to ask my mayock if joe flacco is an elite quarterback. >> mike: you're going to drop that in my lap? i think there are seven franchise quarterbacks heading into this year. i think three or four banging on the dr joe flacco, cam newton, and maybe matthew stafford if he can stay healthy. >> here comes joe flacco. >> mike: brad, to take that one step further, my definition is somebody who can lead you to a super bowl, win the game and be the guy. >> brad: right. >> mike: in the modern super bowl era, you can point to trent dilfer with balance more, and maybe tampa bay the year they were so dominant with bread

johnson as the two, quote, pain managers. all the rest were dominant franchise quarterbacks. if you don't have him, you're not winning in this league. >> brad: alex? >> alex: we had that conversation on the field before this game tonight, whether or not he is an elite quarterback. he says he doesn't necessarily compare himself to the bradys and the brees, but he said he believes in himself and his ability because of the way this team has been made up, the constituents, the offense harsh necessarily favored him, but he believes in what he brings to the team and his on potential. >> mike: let me still you something, alex, he does compare himself. boldin has had a big, big half. brad, to finish that conversation, alex brings up a lot of really good points.

flacco puts it on boldin right here. when i say he does compare himself. he had a conversation with him yesterday, with regard him not signing a new contract yet and where he thinks he fits in this league. he knows what drew brees just signed for, and he thinks he's a top three or four quarterback. i don't blame him. you ought to think that. >> brad: that could have been a dangerous one. and when we did talk to joe flacco, compared to this time last year, his demeanor in our meeting, you know, he's so at ease, and he's so calm. he just became a dad about three months ago. he has a new son steven. just the maturation process you've seen take place. ray rice bangs his wait out to the 48. >> mike: he's the oldest of six

kids. the conversation was fun, when you asked about being a father, because he just launched into, well, we just had our first, i'm thinking maybe eight or nine, because i don't want them to look around the table a and not have a bunch of siblings like i have. it was pretty cool. >> brad: i don't know if he's run that past his wife, and if she's heard it for the first time, we're sorry to have been the bearer of those tiding. flacco pump fakes. he's got to get rid of this one. good coverage by the browns, nobody open. >> mike: a little frustration there. they were looking for boldin on a choice route underneath. there was really good coverage, referenc eventually juke way parker -- juqua parker.

>> brad: sam cook to kick. remember cribbs was injured earlier in the game, so different punt returner, travis benjamin. flag flies in. >> mike: yep. yep. anthony allen. >> referee: fair catch interference, kicking team, number 35, 15-yard penalty, first down cleveland, time-out. >> brad: cleveland trailing by ten. elite quarterback maybe, but not on the last drive. he's frustrated. broad broad ju

minutes remaining. trailing by ten with 10:01 left. brandon weeden, the rookie quarterback, keeping his team in the hunt play action. up the middle. somebody got a hand on it, i think on his throwing arm. >> mike: he's probably lucky, baas webb was going to pick that off. that was a variation of the play

where greg little just ran, came all the way across the field. you have a corner sitting here waiting for it this time, okay? excuse me, the safety is waiting for it, bernard pollard. it's a good thing that ball got knocked down right there by haloti ngata or a piece. >> brad: weeden has only officially been sacked once in 38 total drop-backs, but they've had a lot of pressure tonight. here comes some more. incomplete. >> mike: it's not always about sacks, like you just said. it's about getting pressure with varying looks. all three linebackers are coming. that's a big hit. here's three-man pressure. two of the three getting to the quarterback for the one official sack. again now they're only bringing four. this time mcclain comes through untouched. they gets constant pressure and hits on the rookie quarterback.

>> brad: three wideouts for weeden on a big third down and ten. here comes the pressure again. the pass is complete, but only to the 36 yard line. >> mike: that's what that pressure is designed to do, third and long, force the quarterback to throw it hot. >> the wildy old veteran ed reed is the one that does it. lard darius webb goes back as the punt return man here off the foot of reggie hodges. high spiral, fair catch called for, and taken just outside the 15 yard line. 9:10 remains in the ball game. ravens clinging to a ten-point lead on their home field. and responsiveness... at quicken loans, we're engineered to amaze.

maybe that's why for two years in a row... j.d. power and associates has ranked quicken loans "highest in customer satisfaction in the united states." and we all know what happens when you're ranked highest, right? call or go to quickenloans.com to discover why our mortgage experience is engineered to amaze.

you won't run into kenmore appliances just anywhere. only sears is celebrating the 100th anniversary of america's number one appliance brand, with up to 25% off all kenmore appliances, plus an extra 15% off all appliance brands with your sears card. this is worth running into. this is sears. everything they do, the running style, the ability to catch the football, make people

miss, the pass protection, the toughness, they remind me so much of each other, brad, it's mind-boggling. i asked marshall last night we're going to do a package comparing you to ray rice, do you mind that? he sell, mind it? he's one of my favorite players in the game right now. that's a compliment. >> brad: he'll get the carry, slipped a bit, and then he's put down after a pickup of four. clock ticking under the nine-minute mark. ray rice, 13 rushes, eight catching, all in the first half. >> mike: kind of interesting that both ray rice and marshall faulk were coached by another running back with a similar style, who i used to love watching in philadelphia. there he is, wilbert montgomery.

>> brad: play action, flacco, rolls to throw, an completes it. it's going to be a first down. jacoby jones a pickup of 11. they'll move the sticks. >> mike: that was all about jacoby jones coming back to the football, because there was good coverage on the edge. a veteran receiver coming all the way back. it's a deep comeback. look at him running away from patterson. joe flacco recognizes it. that play can't work unless he hustles his tailback. >> brad: short gain, unsolicited response to us asking him who he looks up to, sfas football players right now in the past. >> right now pattern my game

after marshall faulk. he's the most recent guy to leave the game who was dominant and, you know, running and catching. hopefully i'll be remembered great like marshall faulk. >> mike: isn't that cool? >> brad: that's pretty good. >> mike: one more statement, marshall faulk made the walk at canton, and this guy will someday. >> brad: actually no gain on the plain. >> mike: fujita came all the way around, the pass didn't come out on time, obviously, and for a legitimata chased him down from behind. >> brad: time is becoming abissue if you're a cleveland fan. trailing by ten. >> mike: you have to make a stop. it's third and nine. two more possessions, got to make a stop.

>> brad: flacco fires, in and out of the hands of the intended receiver doss. skrine did come up with the play. so they'll get the ball back. >> mike: he a a competitive and feisty corner. he had only one bad game i saw against auburn. outside of that one game in college, i thought this kid competed, and they made a play when they needed to. >> brad: fields it cleanly, benjamin around the corner and down the sideline. knocked out of bounds by the punter, or he might have taken it coast to coast. as it is, a 40-yard punt return. boy, did they need that. >> mike: they're so young and two of their young players just made plays, buster skrine and

travis benjamin on the punt return. >> brad: benjamin has the browns in ravens territory, when we come back.

best starting field position

for the browns, courtesy of travis benjamin's punt return. on the bootleg, weeden throws, complete, got it to josh gordon another rookie, a pickup of 17 more. >> mike: making a live off play action with deep crossing routes. same thing again, crosser from behind. another rookie. keep in mind on offense, rookie quarterback, rookie tailback, rookie right tackle. two rookie receivers in benjamin and gordon, this is by far the youngest team in football. >> brad: if weeden wasn't 2, it would be a lot younger. weeden feeling kind of old on that one, as ngata got great heat on him again. >> mike: they wanted a double move to their tight end jordan cameron. heavy pressure, though, again

haloti ngata, just too quick and too strong, nowhere near enough time on a double move. >> referee: intentional grounding, offense number 23, it's a spot foul -- >> mike: i'm not sure about this, though. i notice he's in the pocket, but when the throw is impacted by the defender, the ball is coming out. i don't know if he takes a bunch of steam off of it because of the hit. that's what a referee has to decide. if he impacts the throw, it cannot be intentional grounding. >> brad: i think we have another penalty -- no, he's going on walk it off. >> mike: haloti ngata, i don't believe you can block him one on one. >> brad: i thought they called

unsportsman-like conduct, they did in fact. it's all the way back to the 44. >> mike: who's the second call on? was it on the bench? >> brad: i think it was on surer. that's one they could have verbalized a little better to us. >> mike: that's huge. >> brad: it sure is. they had it at the 46. they're back at their own 44. weeden reloads, fires, complete, and norwood's got it all the way down to the 34. so they got 22 back. >> mike: second and 36, that's pretty good. i'm impressed with brandon weeden. he's hanging in the pocket. when he's got time to step up, buys him time. when he has clear vision and clean feet, he's really good. >> brad: nine different receivers used tonight.

pretty good. five minutes to play. there's his numbers. they need another one here. third down and 14. ravens showing pressure. and here they come. weeden, stands in, throws long, oh, in and out of the hand of little. >> mike: that was a seven-man blitz, zero coverage, which means there's absolutely no help for anybody in the secondary. they're bringing seven. look at the pickup by the tailback observe p-- ogbonnaya. the ball is thrown beautifully. you have to catch the football. >> brad: five dropped passes tonight. that hasn't helped weeden's evening. 512-yard attempt by dawson. he's hit from 50 and 51. this guy is unbelievable.

350 plus yard field goals. we're back to a one possession game with 4:33 to go. >> mike: you brought up a name earlier, terrell suggs, t-sizzle. this is a defensive player of the year, not eligible to practice for at least the first six weeks of the season. everybody around baltimore likes to coin the phrase next man up. that's the popular thing to say. when you lose 14 sacks and seven forced fumbles, and it is defensive player of the years, there's no such thing, no next man up there. and as good a defense as this is, when you loose a guy like that that can win one on one on a consistent basis, your defense loses a lot. >> brad: 23-16, the ravens have an eight-game winning streak against the browns. the browns have made it hard on them tonight. the 0-3 cleveland browns, but right now they know they're

still in the thick of this football game with three time-outs remaining, might be early to onsigh kick, i would think, but then i'm not the coach. thompson will take a knee. and the ravens will have it at the 20. after tonight, ten more games on thursday night. for you next thursday currently undefeated cardinals swoop in to take on the rams. surprise team right now, the cardinals, with wins over seattle, new england and philadelphia. sam bradford and the rams thursday night next thursday on nfl network. >> mike: that arizona defense, coordinated by ray horton, has play makers at every level. dockett, calais campbell, the kid at linebacker. they're really good. >> brad: only three undefeateds. rice is dropped for a loss.

a lot of a couple. jabal sheard came off that corner. >> mike: those three teams all play defense. remember last years we were talking about the offensive firepower, houston has one of the best defenses in the league. how come wherever mike nolan goes, good defenses follow. matty ryan is plays at a level saying, hey, i want to be in that group, too. >> brad: i want to be in mayock's elite. [ laughter ] what a catch, what a throw, what a first down. anquan boldin's second half has been nothing short of sensational. >> mike: in this league, you can't be afraid to throw the football up for grabs despite close coverage. the receiver has the advantage,

joe lays it in the bucket. boldin uses that big body and strong hands. >> brad: nine catches for 131 yards. how about that? emergency emergency huge night for boldin. keep in mind how strong her is. he's not a fast receiver. he knows his zone. catch the football, break an ankle or two there on buster skrine. you snatch the ball behind you, the low slant, finally the pass he just caught. joe drops it in over the shoulders. great concentration. what a great evening for anquan boldin. >> brad: one catch in the first half. nine catches overall, only ten coming into this game. that was the biggest one so far.

rice, and maybe a yard. sheldon brown undercut him to bring him down, trying to preserve a possibility for their offense. >> mike: greg little makes a catch there, it's a tie ball game. i talk to pat shurmur on the field, i talked to a bunch of their coaches. they think they're close with thinks young kids. they lost to philly 174616. they lost to a good cincinnati team 34-27. they're a play or two away from winning games. that's highly frustrating. xwrd broad one of the few times tonight that the ravens have huddled. >> mike: the clock is your friends now. take your time. >> brad: cleveland only has one

time-out remaining. they would love a turnover. ray rice down the sideline, and to the 32. >> mike: oh, boy, we talk about marshall faulk, flag is down, yep. mike lore is having a conversati -- mycoher is having a conversation with the referee. he better watch himself or he's going to get thrown out. good job by vonta leach. he was screaming, i didn't hold. here he is right there. this is a weak side zone play. at this point, there's the hold, even though it was quick on kaluka maiava, and probably wasn't a significant hold, but they saw it. whenever you're reaching on --

be careful big boy, good job, vonta leach. really good job. second down and 19. that really hurt him, but pierce might get it all back. blasts into the second tear. he picks up 16. >> mike: marshal yanda, gorgeous. watch yanda, right guard. pierce will follow that block. piism the rookie from temple. >> brad: had over 3500 yards in his career with temple and 53 touchdowns. don't forget next week. right now the cardinals are unbeaten going into bradford territory. rams on the 11th. seattle off to a surprising start. they take on san francisco.

vikings, you mentioned 2-1 against tampa bay. the bills and the dolphins on the 15th. saints need some wins between now and november 29th. we wrap it up with the final two games, a chance to see peyton manning in action and michael vick and company. every thursday, so we hope you're with us. >> mike: third and three, joe is changing the play tess line of scrimmage. pump fakes, goes deep down the sideline, broken up at the last moment by sheldon brown and a flag. >> mike: this is either a pass interference on either tan den doss or green. >> referee: prior to the false, holding defense number 22, five-yard penalty, automatic first down. >> mike: that was completely away from the throw, but buster skrine, down here at the bottom

pulls him down as he's going down. >> brad: takes a handful of jersey. >> mike: flacco checked out, took control, and i've got i'm going out there. big-time quarterbacks make those decisions and throws under pressure. >> brad: the browns have used all of their time-outs, so as long as the ravens keep moving it down the field, the two-minute warning will be the only stop they can get. that's young limping on the sidelines.

>> brad: under three minutes. they might not get it -- >> that penalty really hurt them, away from the ball, you make a stop on third down, you give up a penalty like that. all these little things add up to a loss. >> brad: billy winn in on the tackle. that should take it down to the two-minute warning, the only stoppage the browns have left. >> mike: greg little made a couple spectacular catches tonight, but could not come up with the most important throw of the evening. that's kind of been the story of his career, both at north carolina and in the nfl, spectacular big body that runs

fast, makes an occasional catch, but just not consistent enough to make all the catches he needs. >> brad: big third down coming up for the ravens when we come back following the two-minute warning. pizza hut's big dinner box has all our favorites in one epic box! it's so great, aaron's gonna enjoy it with me. i'd like to, but i've gotta game to play. dude, don't worry... i found a look-alike to take your place. aaron rodgers, meet aaron rodgers. i look much taller on tv. get in the game with pizza hut's big dinner box and pepsi!

get two pizzas, breadsticks and your choice of pasta, stuffed pizza rollers or wings for just $19.99. order it online and score a free 2-liter pepsi. pizza hut. make it great. you won't run into kenmore appliances just anywhere. only sears is celebrating the 100th anniversary of america's number one appliance brand, with up to 25% off all kenmore appliances, plus an extra 15% off all appliance brands with your sears card. this is worth running into. this is sears.

speaking of great, rich eisen. >> thank you, brad. another entertaining and informative show. who will be the start of the game on the set? that is a mystery that will be solved in about two minutes. xwrd broad at the two-minute mark. leading by seven. flacco rolls, will keep it, goes down after a pickup of two. >> mike: good job staying in bounds, jabaal sheard chases him down. now a decision has to be made. i think you have to punt it. i'm not taking a shot with a long field goal and low trajectory. >> brad: that will be the call, mike. >> mike: yeah. >> brad: he had a controversial one against